Photos

Design

The Blackburn Botha was designed to meet a 1935 Royal Air Force Coastal Command specification for a general reconnaissance torpedo bomber. The Botha's competition was the Bristol Beaufighter. Like the Beaufighter the Botha was ordered straight from the drawing board with a prototype being developed.

First Flight

The Botha first flew on December 20, 1938. Many problems were discovered and would plague the Botha throughout their career. Even with a more powerful engine the Botha wasn't able to live up to its intended role.

Prototype

No prototype.

Production

The first deliveries were in May 1940.

Total: 580

Many of the Bothas that were constructed were left in storage until they were scrapped.

Variants

Botha Mk I: Used Bristol Perseus engines.

Botha Mk II: Was to use the Bristol Hercules engines, but the Beaufighter had priority for those. None were built.

Usage

Only Squadron

The No 608 Squadron was the only one to be equipped with Bothas. By September 1940 they were withdrawn from frontline service.

Not One Torpedo

It is reported that the Botha never carried a torpedo while in frontline service.

Changed Duties

Since the Botha wouldn't be used in its intended role, it was decided to use it for navigation and gunnery training.

In August 1943 the Botha was declared obsolete. A few planes were still used until 1944.

Accident Prone

From May 1940 until July 1943 there were 169 aircraft destroyed in training accidents out of 473 used for training.